You say the Declaration of Independence grants rights and I say no it doesn't

: : D: No, there is nothing I would like to retract. I stand by my belief that capitalism is what has made the U.S. a propserous country. I also stand by my belief in the rights guaranteed in the Declaration of Independence.

: : Jim Hightower says "A person's opinion of a cattle-feed lot has a lot to do with where your standing and which way the wind is blowing." To that I'd add that cows would have a different point of view, too. In short, if you're materially comfortable and sufficiently shielded from other peoples' conditions and points of view--not to mention not worried about the future of the planet--then America would seem great. If, on the other hand, you don't have these advantages, or you were unlikely enough to be born Mexican in a border town like Brownsville or Nogales, then the benefits of capitalism might not seem so obvious.

: Similarly I am sure that Stalin thought the USSR was just fine and dandy. The boys back in the gulag had some other stuff to say about it, I am sure.

Are you objecting to what I said, or nodding in agreement? If it's the former then this is a cheap argument, Dave. I don't even think the writers for "The Simpsons" use it anymore. Indeed, even the once-very-funny line "go back to Massachussetts, you pinko!" is Homer Simpson circa '95. Come on, Dave. You're better than this.

: The Declaration of Independence grants no rights nor does it have any legal status. The Constitution is the law of the land, and through history its application has been . . .er . . .inconsistent. To say the least

: Yes, but rights are only as good as the people who defend them. As I pointed out before, there are many people who would like to see those rights cleanly done away with for their own benefit.

Oh, I get it. You say the Declaration of Independence grants rights and I say no it doesn't, only the Constitution does. But you quickly turn around and whip out a proverb which sounds like it comes from a Boy Scout manual. There's nothing I can do with that. But your last sentence, "there are many people who would like to see those rights cleanly done away with for their own benefit."